Oil speculator debate resurfaces  

FT Alphaville has an article looking at the influence speculators have on the oil price and arguing that only a limited subset of players have the ability to strongly influence the oil price - Oil speculator debate resurfaces.

So, as Chris Cook goes on to say, he believes the problem of “manipulation” (if there is any) does not lie with the passive speculators, the hedge funds or even Opec, rather with the cartel that both producers and consumers are exposed to via the effective duopoly of NYMEX and ICE Futures. ...

But Cook’s point is apt - unless you’re a speculator who can physically move barrels around yourself (by operating in the OTC markets), your position is unlikely to influence the price very much. ...

To to really get a grip of the market Cook advises oil consuming nations to create a global “market transaction registry” to be held in the neutral hands of a “Custodian”. He says the outcome of this would enable regulators globally to access the data they require to enforce agreed market standards both on and off-exchange. Perhaps this is the sort of thing Messrs. el-Badri, Hayward and Aliyev should really address when they discuss the subject at Davos?